Manchester United suffered an embarrassing derby defeat to rivals Manchester City this afternoon, despite playing much of the game with a man advantage.
Phil Foden was sent off for kicking Bruno Fernandes in the 23rd minute but Michael Carrick’s side were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
Erling Haaland’s second-half goal was enough to secure all three points for Enzo Maresca’s side, with a lengthy VAR check overturning the linesman’s initial offside call.
However, it’s safe to say that several of the Red Devils’ talented players failed to cover themselves in glory this afternoon and the manager desperately needs to omit them from the starting eleven.
Why Carrick must give up Dolgu and Dalot after Manchester City defeat
In this afternoon’s Manchester derby, Carrick decided to use Diogo Dalot and Patrick Dolgu in the back area to limit the threat posed by Maresca’s players.
The Portugal international struggled against Antoine Semenho, as evidenced by his underlying numbers at Old Trafford this afternoon.
In the ground duels he participated in, he only had a success rate of 43%, while also committing three fouls, which highlighted his ability to deal with opponents.
Dalot was equally ineffective in the attacking areas, failing to find a teammate in any of his subsequent crosses, while only completing 50% of his dribbling attempts.
As for Dolgu on the other side, he was also unable to contain Manchester City’s threat. He also committed 3 fouls and was passed by with the ball twice.
The Denmark international was also limited to one interception and two clearances, as Iliman Ndiaye often found success against him after coming on.
Neither of the two aforementioned full-backs were able to make an impact again, which further highlights why reinforcements are keen on adding reinforcements in these departments this summer.
Why Manchester United players like Dolgu and Dalot are so bad
Defeat to their neighbors is always a bitter pill for fans to stomach, but they will be even more disappointed with the performance of the team’s hierarchy this afternoon.
Even with the man advantage, the Red Devils were unable to defeat the Citizens, ultimately managing only three shots on goal throughout the game.
The likes of Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha have had rest days at Old Trafford, which has undoubtedly contributed to a lack of creativity in the attacking areas.
Winger Bryan Mbeumo also struggled in attacking areas and subsequently failed to add to his goal tally in 2026/27.
The Cameroonian was once again chosen to attack on the right flank, but his numbers showed how difficult it was for him to break through Josko Gvardiol.
He had the joint-highest number of shots of any player in this game, but his shooting accuracy was only 33%, which prevented him from testing Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Brian Mbemo – stats against Manchester City | |
|---|---|
Statistics | consistent |
Minutes played | 90 |
touch | 42 |
through accuracy | 73% |
lose possession of the ball | 17x |
shooting accuracy | 33% |
missed opportunity | 1 |
Dribbling completed | 0 |
duel failed | 75% |
The 27-year-old failed to complete the three dribbles he attempted in the final third while being able to deliver only two passes into the attacking third.
His lack of ability in attacking areas was evident, resulting in him being extremely wasteful and handing possession back to the visitors 17 times – the most of any Carrick player.
Mbemo was also outplayed by Maresca’s backline, resulting in the striker losing 75% of all duels he participated in earlier this afternoon, winning just one aerial duel.
After a performance like this, it was clear that the winger was extremely ineffective when called upon, sometimes even missing when fans relied on him the most.
He, Diogo Dalot and Dolgu are undoubtedly the three most disappointing players at Old Trafford, which should lead Carrick to drop all three immediately before the club’s next game.